The conform modifier in 3ds Max is one of the most helpful additions to recent updates. A tutorial from the Autodesk 3ds Max Learning Channel shows how to use it for several advanced tasks. These include flattening tires, aligning heavy meshes, and cleaning up geometry after retopology.

Tire Flattening Made Easy

Simulating tires as they press against the ground can be difficult. To do this accurately, you can combine volume select and the conform modifier in 3ds Max. This setup lets you push only the lower part of the tire onto the road surface. Then, use stack selection to create a smooth bulge by applying a soft selection. A relax modifier helps finish the effect with a cleaner shape.

Aligning High-Res Meshes to Terrain

Let’s say you want to place a snow pile on an uneven embankment. Start with volume projection. If a gap appears at the edge, add a second conform modifier with shrink wrap. To blend the boundary, use a data channel modifier. This smooths the transition between the two modifiers using a refined soft selection.

Bringing Back Detail After Retopology

After using OpenVDB and retopology, some detail may disappear. You can fix this by using the conform modifier in closest point mode. Reference the original scan mesh to restore surface accuracy. Although this method is slower, it’s ideal when detail matters.

You can learn about 3D modeling in 3ds Max here.